Answer:
There are four reasons why everyone automatically knows by instinct
and by nature that masturbation is a mortal sin against both nature
and God.

The first reason is that all people know in their
conscience that masturbation is a kind of rape of another person.
The second reason is that it is a kind of drug abuse, since the sexual
pleasure is an intoxicating pleasure that affects the person in a way
similar to a strong drug. People who masturbate “look on a woman to lust after
her” in order to become sensually aroused and thus, they commit “adultery with
her” in their hearts (Matthew 5:28) and a kind of drug abuse that makes them
guilty of a mortal sin against nature and God that will cause them to be damned
forever in Hell by having their “whole body be cast into hell” and eternal
torments, according to Our Lord Jesus Christ’s words in The Holy Bible (cf.
Matthew 5:29). The third reason is that all people know that the sexual
pleasure is a shameful pleasure, which is why all people who masturbate
hide in shame when they are committing this vile and shameful deed. And the
fourth reason is that masturbation is non-procreative and unnatural,
and the Church’s teaching is clear that “the conjugal act is destined
primarily by nature for the begetting of children” (Pope Pius XI, Casti
Connubii #54) and that is why the procreation of children is the only
primary end or purpose that God allows the sexual act to be used for, which
makes all other sexual acts (like masturbation) unnatural and mortally sinful.

Yes, masturbation is
definitely a sin. It is a mortal sin against both the Divine and
the Natural Law. A mortal sin left unrepentant on a person’s
soul when they die will always result in that person’s eternal
damnation in Hell.

Thus, these four reasons absolutely prove why masturbation is
always inherently evil and mortally sinful since this vile act is totally
unreasonable, unnatural and selfish; and that is why everyone without
exception who commit this act can never be excused from sin through claiming
ignorance of the fact that masturbation is a sin, and why they will be damned
to burn forever in Hell since they all know by instinct and by nature
that it is a sin just like they know that getting drunk or intoxicated is a sin
against the Natural Law, God and reason.

Everyone knows in their hearts that masturbation is always evil
and a sin and against the natural law

First, masturbation is rape.
Women are not toys, playthings, or “bunnies” from which to derive sexual
stimulation. When women are used in sexual fantasies, they are sexually abused,
even if they are untouched.Many men rape many
women each day and commit adultery and fornication without laying a hand on
them. Women also rape men and commit adultery and fornication in this way.
These rapes, fornications and adulteries are not marked by physical violence
but by psychological warfare. Because a person is often unaware of being used
and abused, and because the abuser often does not fathom the real extent of the
severity of his crime, this makes these mental and visual rapes/abuses seem
less devastating. Nevertheless, grave sin with all its degradation and death is
being committed.

Second, masturbation is a kind of
drug abuse. The vehemence of the sexual pleasure is extremely strong
and similar to a strong drug. All people of course knows that getting
intoxicated or drunk for pleasure only is against the Natural Law. When a
person uses a drug to get intoxicated, he or she knows that they commit a sin.
Similarly, when a person is abusing sexual pleasure, and since his intention
for the sexual act is purely selfish, he knows that he is committing a kind of
drug abuse. In fact, the pleasure that is derived from the sexual pleasure is
many times stronger than many drugs, and as such, are of course more sinful to
abuse than these drugs. For “the sin of lust consists in seeking venereal
pleasure not in accordance with right reason...” and “lust
there signifies any kind of excess.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa
Theologica, II:II, Q. 154, Art. 1)

This can be proven by an example. Consider how a man that is
sick and who suffers much pain is allowed by divine permission and justice to
take morphine or other strong painkillers since he is in need of them. His
reason when taking these drugs is not self-gratification but the alleviation of
the pain that he experiences. This example could be likened with normal,
natural, lawful and procreative marital relations between two married spouses,
which is permitted and non-sinful as long as the spouses have “intercourse so
that it [the seed] might germinate at the right place and in the right way and
bear fruit [that is, bear children] for a just and rational cause.” (Jesus
Christ speaking to St. Bridget, in St. Bridget’s Revelations, Book 5,
Interrogation 5)

However, whenever the sick person mentioned above would become
well and yet continued to use morphine or other painkillers without any need to
do so – and for the mere sake of getting high and for pleasure – he would
have committed the sin of drug abuse. His just reason for using the
painkiller became unjust the very moment he became well and did not need to use
it anymore.

The sexual pleasure is always an evil pleasure to experience
in itself since it is a shameful and intoxicating pleasure that
is very similar to the evil pleasure people experience when they abuse alcohol
or drugs, and this pleasure is evil to experience also for married couples,
even though married spouses do not sin during their lawful and normal
procreative marital acts. St. Augustine in his book On Marriage and
Concupiscence explains this evil thus: “Wherefore the devil holds infants
guilty [through original sin] who are born, not of the good by which marriage
is good, but of the evil of concupiscence [lust], which, indeed,
marriage uses aright, but at which even marriage has occasion to feel shame.”
(Book 1, Chapter 27.--Through Lust Original Sin is Transmitted; Concupiscence
of the Flesh, the Daughter and Mother of [Original] Sin)

Third, masturbation is shameful.Consider the fact that a person would be very ashamed if their parent,
child or friend walked in on them when they were committing this shameful,
selfish and evil act of masturbation. It is thus clear that their conscience
tells them that it is an inherently shameful and evil act.Everyone
(but complete perverts who have willfully destroyed their conscience over a
period of time) knows that masturbation is a selfish, shameful, intoxicating
and evil pleasure and that is why they are ashamed of it and why they hide
themselves when committing this shameful deed.

For instance, consider how utterly stupid and unreasonable
it is for a person to be ashamed of committing acts of sensuality and
masturbation in front of other people while at the same time he refuses to
feel this very same shame when masturbating in the presence of God and Mary and
all the trillions of angels in Heaven... all the while hoping to
not get noticed by anyone! The whole spiritual world sees his
disgusting behavior – yet he doesn’t care. This person knows in his conscience
that he justly deserves to be punished by God who sees him commit this evil and
shameful act, and he also knows that he is committing an inherently evil,
shameful and selfish act since he would be ashamed to commit it before other
people. Yet his perverse lust quenches his perverse conscience in this case in
order to satisfy his unnatural lusts.

Jean Gerson, Oeuvres Complétes: “What a young
boy [or anyone who have sinned through sensual touches or masturbation] should
tell in confession: "I sometimes stroked myself or others, urged by
disorderly pleasure; I fondled myself, in my bed and elsewhere, something I
would not have dared to do if people had been there." Sometimes the
priest cannot absolve such fondling. If they are not confessed and the details
given, whatever the shame, one cannot be absolved, and the confession is worthless:
one is destined to be damned for ever in Hell. The action and the way it has
been done must be told.”

Some people may object that there are many other events that
are shameful and that are not yet inherently sinful such as soiling one’s pants
or being forced to show oneself naked to other people against one’s own will.
This objection, however, fails to notice the obvious difference between people
committing acts of lust and events which are shameful but that are not
desired or longed for by a person in a sensual way. Acts of lust are acts
performed for the sake of a pleasure and are therefore performed with the will
and purpose of satisfying a sensual desire while the events or acts of soiling
one’s pants or being forced to show oneself naked to other people is not a
desire or lust that is sought after. Thus, these people do not desire that
these events should happen. If those people who endured the events of soiling
their clothes or naked exhibition against their own will would sensually desire
or lust for that these shameful events would happen in the same way that a man
or a woman lust for and desire that sexual acts or acts of lust happen, they
would indeed be declared the most disgusting perverts. Who but a complete and
satanic pervert would sensually desire or lust after soiling their pants or
being exhibited naked?

Someone might say that it is the sexual member that is
shameful or evil to expose to others, and not concupiscence or the sexual lust.
But this argument is false and easily refuted since no one who is not a
complete pervert would have sex or masturbate in front of other people even
though their whole body was covered by sheets or blankets. This proves to us
that it is the sexual pleasure that is shameful and evil, and not only the
exhibition of the sexual organ. For “man is ashamed not only of this sexual
union but also of all the signs thereof,” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa
Theologica, II:II, Q. 151, Art. 4) and this proves to us that not only the
sensual desire is a shameful desire, but also the very sexual act and “also of
all the signs thereof.”

Who would like to have their children or parents be a part of
a porn movie? No one but a complete and satanic pervert. Who would want their
child to be lusted at by other people? Only a son of Satan. This shows us that
people know instinctivelyand by nature that the
sexual pleasure is a shameful, evil and inherently disordered pleasure, since
it plucks the innocence of people.

All people thus know in their hearts that masturbation is
inherently evil and shameful. But since they have allowed their lust to reach
such a level in their hearts that they do not want to resist it, they try to
forget the obvious fact that this act is against their conscience and nature.
They can only try to forget it, however, for they all know that it is an evil
act since they are ashamed to do it in front of other people. Thus, their
conscience convicts them and testifies against them on this point.

Matthew 5:27-30, Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke, saying:
“You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not commit
adultery. But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust
after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart. And
if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee.
For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than
that thy whole body be cast into hell. And if thy right hand scandalize thee,
cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy
members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell.”

Mark 9:42-47 “And if thy hand scandalize thee, cut
it off: it is better for thee to enter into life, maimed, than having two hands
to go into hell, into unquenchable fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the
fire is not extinguished. And if thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off. It is
better for thee to enter lame into life everlasting, than having two feet, to
be cast into the hell of unquenchable fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the
fire is not extinguished. And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out. It is
better for thee with one eye to enter into the kingdom of God, than having two
eyes to be cast into the hell of fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire
is not extinguished.”

People who masturbate “look on a woman to lust after her” in
order to become sensually aroused, and thus, they commit “adultery with her” in
their hearts and a mortal sin against nature and God. But masturbation is
also a mortal sin and against the Natural Law even without thinking about
women, which means that no one can be excused who commits this sin.

These verses from Our Lord Jesus Christ above also proves to
us that the mere consent to lustful thoughts (without any physical activity) is
enough to damn a person for ever in Hell — and that is why we must always
control our eyes and keep them away from persons or objects that may arouse
sensual or sinful thoughts.

Fourth, masturbation is non-procreative.
The Church and the Natural Law teaches that “the conjugal act is destined
primarily by nature for the begetting of children” (Pope
Pius XI, Casti Connubii #54) and that even the normal, natural and
procreative“act of marriage exercised for pleasure only”
is condemned as a sin for both the married and unmarried people alike (Pope
Innocent XI, Various Errors on Moral Subjects Condemned in Decree (# 9),
March 4, 1679).

The Natural Law is rooted in design. God, the Supreme
Designer, has imprinted a design on all created things – including the human
person, both in his spiritual and physical being – a purpose for which each has
been created. Thus, with regard to the human person, the Creator has designed
speech for communicating the truth and the mouth to swallow food etc. Likewise,
the Creator has designed the sexual organs for something noble, namely, for
procreating children. Thus, the Church’s teaching is clear that “the
conjugal act is destined primarily by nature for the begetting of children”
(Pope Pius XI, Casti Connubii #54)

Any action of the sexual organisms (the private parts) or
other acts that are intended to arouse sensuality that is lacking the
procreative function, is thus always mortally sinful and against the Natural
Law. An action of the sexual faculties outside of the normal and natural
marital act are lacking the procreative dimension and consequently, it would be
sexual pleasure sought for itself, isolated from its procreative function – and
that is an unreasonable, unlawful and unnatural lust.

What does the Bible Say about Masturbation?

“Is masturbation a sin?” Many have found it difficult to
answer this question according to the Bible because the Bible never mentions
the word “masturbation” specifically. To understand how God feels about this
topic, we only need to examine other verses that deal with issues such as lust,
self-control, and purity.

It has been the constant and clear teaching of the Church from
principles found in Holy Scripture that masturbation is a serious mortal sin
that will keep one from Heaven (e.g., 1 Cor. 6:10). This is also clear from the
teaching of the Church as well as from natural reason. In assigning a reason
for such a serious prohibition, the Church teaches that the sexual function is
meant by God to serve primarily for the begetting of children. Therefore, any
deliberate activation of it is seriously inordinate and sinful.

The Lord has said: “Look not round about thee in the ways of
the city, nor wander up and down in the streets thereof. Turn away thy face
from a woman dressed up, and gaze not about upon another’s beauty. For many
have perished by the beauty of a woman, and hereby lust is enkindled as a
fire.” (Ecclesiasticus or Sirach 9:7-9) “Young men, in like manner, exhort that
they be sober.” (Titus 2:6) “You have heard that it was said to them of old:
Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say to you, that whosoever shall
look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in
his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)

Jesus feels the best thing to do about sexual sins is to gouge
out our eyes (Matthew 5:29) and cut off our hands (Matthew 5:30). This is a
very serious and extreme remedy. He does not literally mean for us to mutilate
ourselves, but that we must cut off all occasions of sin. However, it is clear
that sexual sins, and also the sexual fantasies that are so easily overlooked
and neglected by so many people, are serious enough to be a part of the highway
to Hell. If we let ourselves commit sin with the hand or be hit in the eye by
the Devil, we are sure to lose our souls.Let us
therefore guard our eyes, the lamps of our bodies, the way to our hearts and
mind, and protect our other members from committing or falling into sin.

So we are to control our actions with others and also our
actions when alone. We are not to let sin take root in our hearts. Romans
6:12-14 tells us, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye
should obey the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments
of iniquity unto sin; but present yourselves to God, as those that are alive
from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but
under grace.” Your “members” in this verse is referring to the different parts
of your body: your hands, feet, fingers, etc. Are you using your body in
masturbation in a way that you think would make God proud?

Many times we have the attitude of “If God gave me this body,
shouldn’t I be able to enjoy it?”First of all,
we have to remember that sex is God’s invention. He is the mastermind behind
it. God Himself has declared that it is only in marriage that any form of
sexual stimulation, that is, natural sexual intercourse open to procreation of
children, is lawful.

Masturbation is a selfish act where we take advantage of and
abuse our procreative power. God cares about what we do with our bodies, in
public or in private, and He doesn’t want us to abuse ourselves in any way. Did
you know that in older dictionaries the definition of the word masturbation is
“self-abuse”? And if you were to look in a current dictionary under the word
self-abuse, the word “masturbation” would be the second definition given. To
this day, the two words of “masturbation” and “self-abuse” are linked together,
masturbation/self-abuse.

You might be thinking, “How am I abusing myself by doing
this?” You are abusing yourself by masturbating because you are improperly
handling something that God entrusted to your care. You are taking something
that God gave us (our bodies and minds) and using it in a perverse manner. When
masturbating, you are defiling your mind with obscene thoughts and then
defiling your body by using it to act out those thoughts. To “defile” something
means “to make unclean, to make impure.” Matthew 15:19-20 reads, “For out of
the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications…
these are the things which defile a man.”

And it is of faith that we all already know in our hearts that
masturbating is wrong. When you engage in this activity, you know that you are
committing a shameful and evil act.

This activity does not lift you up spiritually. It brings you
down. God did not create our sexual organs so that we could fantasize and have
sex by ourselves. Now, you might be thinking, “Well, isn’t it still better to
masturbate than to commit fornication?” The only answer to this question is no,
for you are still committing a mortal sin and it doesn’t really matter what
form of mortal sin you are committing. You will still be sent Hell for it,
whether it be by fornication or self-abuse.Maybe
in your mind you feel that it is better to masturbate because at least you are
the only one involved. Maybe you believe that it is the “lesser” of two evils.

In reality, masturbation is a mortal sin just like fornication
and is considered as even a worse sin than fornication according to
St. Thomas Aquinas.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part
of the Second Part, Q. 154, Art. 12: “Whether the unnatural vice is the
greatest sin among the species of lust? I answer that, In every genus,
worst of all is the corruption of the principle on which the rest depend. Now
the principles of reason are those things that are according to nature, because
reason presupposes things as determined by nature, before disposing of other
things according as it is fitting. … Therefore, since by the unnatural vices
[masturbation, homosexuality, sodomy, bestiality, etc.] man transgresses that
[purpose] which has been determined by nature [for the procreation of children]
with regard to the use of venereal actions, it follows that in this matter
[species of lust] this sin [the unnatural vice] is gravest of all.”

First of all, and we mentioned this before, when women are
used in sexual fantasies, they are sexually abused, even if they are untouched.
So many men rape many women each day and commit adultery and fornication
without laying a hand on them. Women also rape men and commit adultery and fornication
in this way. Second, masturbation will not truly relieve the sexual
pressure that you may feel. It may for a short moment, but in the long run it
only creates a deeper desire and capacity for sex, which will lead to more
masturbation and, ultimately, the desire for sexual intercourse and pornography.
Third, everyone must also be absolutely aware of that even if a person doesn’t
think of women or men while masturbating, this sin is still one of those
unnatural vices that are amongst the worst sins that one can commit against God
and nature.

St. Alphonsus de Liguori, The Four Principal Gates of
Hell, On Impurity: “Some will say that it is a trifling sin. Is it a
trifling sin? It is a mortal sin. St. Antoninus writes that such is the
nauseousness of this sin that the devils themselves cannot endure it. Moreover,
the Doctors of the Church say that certain demons, who have been superior to
the rest, remembering their ancient dignity, disdain tempting to so loathsome a
sin. Consider then how disgusting he must be to God, who, like a dog, is ever
returning to his vomit, or wallowing like a pig in the stinking mire of this
accursed vice (2 Pet. 2:22). The impure say, moreover, “God has compassion on
us who are subject to this vice, because He knows that we are flesh.” What do
you say? God has compassion on this vice? But you must know that the most
horrible chastisements with which God has ever visited the earth have been
drawn down by this vice. St. Jerome says that this is the only sin of which we
read that it caused God to repent of having made man, for all flesh had become
corrupted (Gen. 6:6-12). And so it is, St. Jerome says, that there is no sin
which God punishes so rigorously, even upon earth, as this. … Principally on
account of this sin did God destroy mankind, with the exception of eight persons,
by the flood. It is a sin which God punishes, not only in the other life, but
in this also. “Because,” says God, “you have forgotten Me and turned your back
upon Me, for a miserable pleasure of the flesh, I am resolved that even in this
life you shall pay the price of your wickedness” (Ezek. 23:35).”

St. Alphonsus de Liguori, The Four Principal Gates of
Hell, On Impurity: “You say, “God has compassion upon men subject to this
sin.” But it is this sin that sends most men to Hell. St. Remigius says that the
greater number of the damned are in Hell through this vice [of impurity].
Father Segneri writes that as this vice fills the world with sinners, so it
fills Hell with damned souls; and before him St. Bernardine of Siena wrote:
“This sin draws the whole world, as it were, into sin.” And before him St.
Bernard and St. Isidore said that “the human race is brought under the power of
the devil more by lust than by all the other vices.” The reason is because this
vice proceeds from the natural inclination of the flesh. Hence St. Thomas
Aquinas says that the devil does not take such complacency in securing the
commission of any other sin as of this, because the person who is plunged in
this infernal mire remains lodged therein, and almost wholly unable to free himself
again.”

James 1:14-15 tells us that “every man is tempted, when he is
drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it
bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” This
verse is telling us that all sin begins with a thought, but that when we give
in to the thought and act out the sin in deed or thought, we will sink deeper
and deeper into sin. Sin always takes you farther than you wanted to go and
keeps you longer than you wanted to stay. And with masturbation, there is a
vicious circle. You are only temporarily satisfied. And the more you indulge in
this activity, the more addicted you become to it. Then if you let yourself
become enslaved to a sexual high, you will find that you need to go to increasingly
extreme acts to maintain the same degree of excitement. I think the many daily
perversions committed by sex and masturbation addicts proves this case quite
clearly. In John 8:34, Jesus warns us, “Verily, verily I say unto you,
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”

So, again, masturbation is a dangerous activity to engage in
for this reason: All sexual immorality, including masturbation, begins with a
thought. Then a lustful thought not taken captive will eventually lead to other
perversions, including deviant sexual practices, demonic obsession or
possession and homosexuality, and other perversions like pedophilia, because
sin reproduces itself if left unchecked. All sexual perverts proves that this
is the case. For they all started out as masturbators just like ordinary people
at some point in time. When we fantasize and masturbate, we open our hearts and
minds up to demonic forces and strange and perverse thoughts and possibilities.
We are giving the Devil an open invitation to take residence in our beings. If
we do not deal with our evil thoughts, they will take root in our heart. It is
for this reason that God is so concerned with our thought life. Jesus came not
only to deliver us from our “outward” sins, but also from wickedness that
begins in the heart.

Now, you may be thinking “It is unfair for God to demand
sexual purity from us after giving us sexual drives that seem to overwhelm us.”
First of all, and this is important to remember, Adam and Eve was not created
by God with sexual temptations or desires. In other words, God did not create
the human race with any of the sexual temptations or desires that we are now
plagued with. These temptations are only the tragic and evil effect of the Fall
and Original sin of Adam and Eve, and is something which God permits us to be
tempted with as a punishment for the original sin.

Had Adam and Eve chosen not to sin, we would not now have had
any sexual temptations tempting us. St. Augustine explains it thus: “…lust,
which only afterwards sprung up as the penal consequence of [original] sin, the
iniquity of violating it was all the greater in proportion to the ease with
which it might have been kept.” (City of God, Book XIV, Chapter 12; also
seeThe Origin of Fleshly Lust.)

Second, God never demands from us something that would be
impossible for us to do. And even if it’s hard for us, “nothing is impossible
with God” (Luke 1:37). True, you may feel weak within yourself, but He will
equip you with His holy power to overcome any sin if only you ask in faith.

Hence St. Augustine wisely observes, “The presumption of
stability renders many unstable; no one will be so strong as he who feels his
own weakness.” St. Alphonsus commenting on these words wisely adds, “Whosoever
says that he entertains no fear of being lost, betrays a pernicious self-confidence
and security by which he deceives himself. For, confiding in his own strength,
he ceases to tremble, and being free from fear [of falling into sin], he
neglects to recommend himself to God, and left to his own weakness, he
infallibly falls.” (Treatise on Prayer, Chapter IV)

Some of you are probably saying, “Well, I agree with all of
this in my head, but living it out on a day-to-day basis is another story.”
Perhaps you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the temptations that you face. But
never underestimate the power that you have over sin. On your own you are not
that strong, but with God’s power, you can overcome. Second Corinthians 10:3-5
reads, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling
down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ.”

These verses are telling us that we are not helpless. We can
fight and be victorious against our sexual thoughts and desires—with the help
of God. If you want to stop masturbating and you realize that this is what your
Heavenly Father desires of you, you can. Confess this sin to a Catholic priest
and to God and ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen you so that you can have
control over your lustful thoughts and actions, and remember always to
recommend yourself to Jesus and Mary in time of temptations, and you will never
fall. And if you have a Catholic friend whom you trust, ask that person to pray
for you in this area, also. And if you slip occasionally or even a lot, don’t
give up. Self-control takes effort. If you truly want to stop masturbating, one
thing that you must consider doing is to flee from and reject those things that
will cause you to stumble, whether it be the internet or sexually-themed
movies, music, books, videos, in other words, anything that fills your mind
with images and words that will make you weak and vulnerable.

What you need to do, first of all, is avoid the occasions of
sin that are causing you to fall into mortal sin. Take drastic action in that
regard, if it is necessary. For example, if someone commits mortal sins on a
computer, he or she should get rid of the computer. If people are stuck in such
a state, Jesus says they must “cut off” the occasion lest they perish forever
(Matthew 5:30).

Second, you need to pray the Rosary each day, and pray it
well. Cultivate the habit of praying the Hail Mary as much as you can. There
are many ways one can go about doing so. For example, each time you leave your
room, you could go to your knees and pray one to three Hail Mary’s. Praying the
Rosary and the Hail Mary is actually the most important point, for without
those graces you will not come out of mortal sin or begin to avoid the
occasions that are causing you to fall into sin. (SeeHow
to Pray the Rosary; See alsoThe Revelations of St. Bridget which is a MUST READ book that is
especially effective in helping a person to conquer his or her sensual
temptations and faults.)

Sister Lucy of Fatima, regarding the Holy Rosary, said the
following words to Fr. Augustin Fuentes on December 26, 1957:

“Look, Father, the Most Holy Virgin, in these last times
in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary. She
has given this efficacy to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter
how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal
life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world or of the
religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot
be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how
difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.”

Finally, the first degree of humility is to fear God enough to
avoid clear mortal sins. Mortal sinners don’t respect that God will cast them
into Hell for their actions. If they did, they would alter their conduct. Thus,
people who commit mortal sins lack humility. In their pride, they don’t fear or
respect God; and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm
110:10). A person who commits mortal sins needs to begin to respect and fear
God for who He is and what He will do to them.

St. Augustine of Hippo in his “Confessions” (written
397-398 A.D.) relates to us his own struggle with the evil of lust and how he
was bound down by his own perverse iron will.

St. Augustine, The
Confessions of Augustine, Book VIII, Chapter V, Of the Causes Which
Alienate Us from God:“…
thus [I was] bound, not with the irons of another, but my own iron will
[chaining me in lust]. My will was the enemy master of, and thence had made a
chain for me and bound me. Because of a perverse will was lust made; and lust
indulged in became custom; and custom not resisted became necessity. By which
links, as it were, joined together (whence I term it a chain), did a hard
bondage hold me enthralled. But that new will which had begun to develop in me,
freely to worship You, and to wish to enjoy You, O God, the only sure
enjoyment, was not able as yet to overcome my former wilfulness, made strong by
long indulgence. Thus did my two wills, one old and the other new, one carnal,
the other spiritual, contend within me; and by their discord they unstrung my
soul.Thus came I to
understand, from my own experience, what I had read, how that the flesh lusts
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. (Galatians 5:17) I verily
lusted both ways; yet more in that which I approved in myself, than in that
which I disapproved in myself. For in this last it was now rather not I,
(Romans 7:20) because in much I rather suffered against my will than did it
willingly. And yet it was through me that custom became more combative against
me, because I had come willingly whither I willed not. And who, then, can with
any justice speak against it, when just punishment follows the sinner? Nor had
I now any longer my wonted excuse, that as yet I hesitated to be above the
world and serve You, because my perception of the truth was uncertain; for now
it was certain. But I, still bound to the earth, refused to be Your soldier;
and was as much afraid of being freed from all embarrassments, as we ought to
fear to be embarrassed.”

“I’ve broken every commandment. I’m trying to stay away
from sin but I still find myself suffering with the same sins”

Tragically, many persons deluded by the Devil falsely claim
that sexual sins and masturbation is no sin at all, while some try to minimize
the wickedness of their actions; others still try to blame God for their
failings. Here follows an email exchange with a certain person that probably
many people can associate directly with.

“I watched... [the] video on "death and the journey into hell".
Based on the video it almost seems like one little false move by whomever and
you will be damned. We’ll never be perfect. We are all sinners until death.
Based on how this world is now, I can see the thought of more going to hell
then heaven. I’ve broken every commandment. I’m trying to stay away from sin
but I still find myself suffering with the same sins. I pray to Jesus and Mary
all the time. I pray the rosary and many other prayers. I try to make a point
of doing goods acts in the name of Jesus whether great or small. This video
made me feel as though no matter what I do I will be damned. Jesus be with you
and your family.

Ace…”

Answer: You say that it’s as if one little false move
will send you to Hell. A mortal sin is not a false move, neither is it
“little”; it’s a willful commission of an act that’s gravely offensive to God.
It is a huge thing, a mortal sin. You clearly have a desire to downplay
mortally sinful activity, and your problem is that you won’t exercise your will
and resist sin, by doing the necessary sacrifices that is required of you in
order to be saved and avoid sin. You claim that you pray; yet you persist in
grave sins.

There are seven main reasons for why you persist in grave sin:
First, you don’t pray with true faith and sincerity, or you pray too little of
the Rosary and other mental and vocal prayers. Second, you spend too little
time on reading God’s Word and other good, spiritual Catholic writings. Third,
you don’t recommend yourself to God nor seek after God’s protection in time of
temptation, for if you did recommend yourself to God and if you did ask for His
help when assailed by the enemy, you would infallibly not have fallen into sin.
Fourth, you have not cut off all the occasions of sin like evil and worldly
friends, media, music, magazines, video games and the like that are opposed to
Our Lord Jesus Christ’s words and a holy life. Fifth, you have not made enough
penance for your sins by fasting, mortification and self-denial of your own
will.

The Canons of John the Faster teaches that “Anyone
having committed masturbation is penanced forty days, during which he must keep
himself alive by xerophagy and must do one hundred metanies every day.” (Canon
8) The Interpretation of this canon explains that: “The present Canon decrees
that anyone who is guilty of masturbating at any time is obliged to refrain
from communing for forty days straight, passing these with xerophagy, [the
practice of eating dry food, especially food cooked without oil] or, more
explicitly speaking, with only bread and water, and doing every day metanies to
the number of one hundred each time. As concerning masturbators and
fornicators, St. Meletius the Confessor asserts that they are making a
sacrifice of their semen to the Devil, which semen is the most precious part of
their body.”

The word Metanie means “A reverent physical movement
indicating repentance (Greek: metanoia), made by making the sign of the cross
with the right hand and either bowing at the waist and knees until the hand on
its downward final stroke touches the ground (small metanie), or lowering the
whole body onto the knees and bowing down fully until the forehead touches the
ground (great metanie). Metanies are prescribed at specific liturgical times,
particularly during the Lenten prayer of Ephrem the Syrian, but are proscribed
from Pascha through Pentecost. They are a part of personal prayer and are an
integral element of monastic training. Metanies are distinct from the still
kneeling position, and also from the bowing of clergy to one another known as
the schema.”

Sixth, (as to the question why one falls back into sin), you
do not use your time, money and effort to save other people from the eternal
fire of hell or care enough for their spiritual welfare to lead them to a
better lifestyle, and because of this, you are lacking in or are devoid of
charity and love for your fellow human beings. You refuse to speak about God
with your family and friends, refusing to help or convert them from sin and
infidelity and you refuse to take an active part in trying to help souls in
general by whatever means are necessary to you, and in so doing, choose to
become God’s enemy according to Our Lord Jesus Christ’s words in the Holy
Bible, which states that: “He that is not with me, is against me: and he that
gathereth not with me, scattereth” (Matthew 12:30). All who can help their
family or friends or themselves but refuse to do so will be damned for their
lack of charity. Thus, “Those words of our Lord, He that is not with Me is
against Me, will make you understand how destitute we here are of any
friends to aid us in bringing this people to Jesus Christ. But we must not
despond, for God at the end will render unto each one according to his deserts…
And how severe are the punishments which God at last inflicts on His
enemies, we see well enough, as often as we turn our mind’s eye to the
inextinguishable furnace of hell, whose fires are to rage throughout all
eternity for so many miserable sinners.” (St. Francis Xavier, A.D.
1544, In The Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier, p. 223)

Our Lord Jesus Christ in The Revelations of St. Bridget shows
us that a person who does not use his possessions for His sake “will incur a
judgment” and “that every person who does not hearken to others will
himself cry out and not be heard”, which means that he who does not have
charity with others, using his time, money and effort to help and save them
from hell “will himself cry out [to God] and not be heard” both in this
life when he seeks to be relieved from his sins and sinful desires, and in the
eternal fire of hell, which is the eternal abode of all who lack charity and
love for their fellow human beings. Our Lord said to St. Bridget: “Reply firmly
to him with the four things I tell you now. The first is that many people lay
up treasure but do not know for whom. The second is that every person entrusted
with the Lord’s talent who does not spend it cheerfully will incur a judgment.
The third is that a person who loves land and flesh more than God will not join
the company of those who hunger and thirst for justice. The fourth is that
every person who does not hearken to others will himself cry out and not be
heard.” (The Revelations of St. Bridget, Book 4, Chapter 81)

In truth, Catholic teaching teaches that a person is bound to
give a tenth of his earnings to God, (usually to one’s local priest) and this
teaching comes directly from the Old Testament which commands all God’s
servants to give a tenth of their profits as a sacrifice to God. Today,
however, there are no Catholic priests available to give one’s money to, and
so, one must instead find a completely Catholic cause to give a tenth of one’s
earnings to, such as donating to a Catholic organization or group in order to
help them save souls, or printing Catholic material oneself and handing it out
to people. When one understands that this is a law of charity that God requires
all to follow, one can understand why so many are allowed to fall into sin and
be unable to extricate themselves out of their sins. Their own greed and lack
of charity for other souls who labor in darkness and infidelity directly causes
them to be unable to defend themselves against the attacks of the devil. Thus, Our
Lord Jesus Christ spoke rightly saying “that every person who does not
hearken to others will himself cry out and not be heard.” In truth, those
who wish to please God in all but who have not fulfilled this Law of God of
tithing, should find a good and perfectly Catholic cause and then donate a
tenth of all they own to it, asking God to forgive them for their many years of
forgetfulness and disobedience. However, donating to heretics, schismatics or
other non-Catholic religious organizations is condemned by the Church as a
mortal sin, and so, this makes it necessary to find out thoroughly whether a
person or an organization that one wants to donate to is affiliated in anyway
with the propagation of a false, non-Catholic belief. If a person is unsure
about whether a person or an organization is acceptable or not to donate to,
you can always send us an email and ask us for help.

The Catholic Encyclopedia states concerning tithing
that: “The payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law, and early writers
speak of it as a divine ordinance and an obligation of conscience. The earliest
positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of the
bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the canons of the Council of Maçon in
585. In course of time, we find the payment of tithes made obligatory by
ecclesiastical enactments in all the countries of christendom. The Church
looked on this payment as “of divine law, since tithes were instituted not
by man but by the Lord Himself” (C. 14, X de decim. III, 30).”

The following example on the importance of charity can be seen
clearer from St. Bridget’s revelations, in the book rightly entitled the “Book
of Questions.” It is composed of questions which Our Lord and Judge gives
wonderful answers to:

“Third question. Again the monk appeared on his ladder as
before saying: “Why should I not exalt myself over others, seeing that I am
rich?”

“Answer to the third question. The Judge
answered: “As to why you must not take pride in riches, I answer: The riches of
the world only belong to you insofar as you need them for food and clothing.
The world was made for this: that man, having sustenance for his body, might
through work and humility return to me, his God, whom he scorned in his
disobedience and neglected in his pride. However, if you claim that the
temporal goods belong to you, I assure you that you are in effect forcibly
usurping for yourself all that you possess beyond your needs. All temporal
goods ought to belong to the community and be equally accessible to the needy
out of charity.

“You usurp for your own superfluous
possession things that should be given to others out of compassion. However,
many people do own much more than others but in a rational way, and they
distribute it in discreet fashion. Therefore, in order not to be accused more severely
at the judgment because you received more than others, it is advisable for you
not to put yourself ahead of others by acting haughtily and hoarding
possessions. As pleasant as it is in the world to have more temporal goods than
others and to have them in abundance, it will likewise be terrible and painful
beyond measure at the judgment not to have administered in reasonable fashion
even licitly held goods.” (St. Bridget’s Revelations, Book 5,
Interrogation 7)

Thus, we can see why Our Lord in the Holy Bible teaches us to
help our fellow men when they are starving either physically or spiritually.
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I
was a stranger and you welcomed me,” (Matthew 25:35) “If you pour yourself out
for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light
rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:10)

It cannot be doubted that one of the main reasons why the
first generation of Christians were so much more virtuous than following
generations, was that they all gave up all of their possessions to God and the
Christian community, and spent their life much in the same way as monks and
nuns nowadays live. Holy Scripture is very clear on the great spiritual benefits
that those who do this will have and that they will receive “a treasure in
heaven” for their good deeds instead of something that “moth corrupteth” on
this earth: “Sell what you possess and give alms. Make to yourselves bags which
grow not old, a treasure in heaven which faileth not: where no thief
approacheth, nor moth corrupteth.” (Luke 12:33) The Bible also makes clear that
we will be punished unless we follow this law of charity. “To him therefore who
knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17) “Go to
now, ye rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you.
Your riches are corrupted: and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and
silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you,
and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath
against the last days.” (James 5:1-3)

Seventh (as to the question why one falls back into sin), you
don’t have the first degree of humility: a fear of God that compels one to
avoid mortal sin. Hence, your problem is pride. You think God’s law is a joke –
not serious enough to warrant a change in your lifestyle – and you are
mistaken.

St. Benedict (c. 520): “The first degree of humility, then,
is that a man always have the fear of God before his eyes, shunning all
forgetfulness and that he be ever mindful of all that God hath commanded, that
he always considereth in his mind how those who despise God will burn in hell
for their sins, and that life everlasting is prepared for those who fear God.”
(The Holy Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter VII, Of Humility)

St. Alphonsus: “Hear, my Brethren: the Lord pardons the
sins of him who repents of them; but he does not pardon him who has the will to
commit sin. See for how many years God has borne with you, and is saying to
your heart: Cease, my child; amend your life; offend me no more! And what have
you done? Always the same thing: you have confessed, you have promised; yet you
have always begun again to sin, you always continue to offend God! For what are
you waiting? That God may take you from this world and cast you into hell? Do
you not see that God cannot bear with you any longer?” (Exhortations, The
complete ascetical works of St. Alphonsus, vol. 15, p. 101)

Rev. Francis Spirago, The Catechism Explained,
Chapter VI, On Temptation (1899): “When we are tempted we ought to betake
ourselves immediately to prayer, or think of our last end, or of the evil
consequences of sin. If the enemy dares to attack the fortress in spite of the
ramparts raised about it, it behooves us to defend it manfully. When assailed
we must instantly assume the defensive; for of all things it is most important
to repulse the first onslaught. The greater our determination, the sooner will
our adversary be discouraged. If we falter, he will force an entrance, and gain
the mastery over our imagination. He acts like soldiers, who when they have
taken the enemy’s guns, instantly turn them upon him. St. Jerome says that he
who does not resist immediately is already half conquered. A conflagration can
be extinguished at the outset, but not later on. A young tree is easily bent,
not an old one. But since we can do nothing in our own strength, we must strive
to obtain divine grace. Wherefore let him who is tempted have recourse to
prayer; let him imitate the apostles when a storm arose on the sea of
Genesareth; or the child who, when he sees a large dog coming, runs to his
mother. He who neglects prayer in the time of temptation is like a general,
who, when surrounded by the enemy, does not ask for reinforcements from his
monarch. Adam fell into sin because when he was tempted he did not look to God
for help. We should say a Hail Mary, or at least devoutly utter the holy names
of Jesus and Mary. “These holy names,” St. John Chrysostom declares, “have an
intrinsic power over the devil, and are a terror to hell.” At the name of Mary
the devils tremble with fear; when she is invoked their power forsakes them as
wax melts before the fire. Prayer is the weapon wherewith to ward off the
assaults of our spiritual foe; it is more potent than all the efforts of the
demons because by prayer we procure the assistance of God, and nothing can
withstand His might. Prayer is exactly opposed to temptation for it enlightens
the understanding and fortifies the will. The sign of the cross and holy water
have also great efficacy against the spirit of evil. He flies from the cross as
a dog flies at the sight of the whip. Holy water derives its efficacy from the
prayers of the Church. St. Thomas Aquinas and many other saints frequently made
use of the sign of the cross with excellent results. St. Teresa on the other
hand constantly employed holy water. It is well to sprinkle the sick and dying
with holy water, and we should never omit to take it on entering a church.”

St. Alphonsus, Prayer: The Great Means of Salvation and
of Perfection, Chapter 1, The Necessity Of Prayer: “Without prayer it is
impossible to resist temptations and to keep the commandments. Moreover, prayer
is the most necessary weapon of defense against our enemies; he who does not
avail himself of it, says St. Thomas, is lost. He does not doubt that Adam fell
because he did not recommend himself to God when he was tempted: ‘He sinned
because he had not recourse to the divine assistance.’ St. Gelasius says the
same of the rebel angels: ‘Receiving the grace of God in vain, they could not
persevere, because they did not pray.’ St. Charles Borromeo, in a pastoral
letter, observes, that among all the means of salvation recommended by Jesus Christ
in the Gospel, the first place is given to prayer; and he has determined that
this should distinguish his Church from all false religions, when he calls her
‘the house of prayer.’ My house is a house of prayer (Mt. 21,13). St.
Charles concludes that prayer is ‘the beginning and progress and the completion
of all virtues.’ So that in darkness, distress, and danger; we have no other
hope than to raise our eyes to God, and with fervent prayers to beseech his
mercy to save us: ‘As we know not,’ said king Josaphat, ‘what to do, we can
only turn our eyes to you’ (2 Par. 20,12). This also was David’s practice, who
could find no other means of safety from his enemies, than continual prayer to
God to deliver him from their snares: ‘My eyes are ever towards the Lord; for
he shall pluck my feet out of the snare’ (Ps. 24,15). So he did nothing but
pray: ‘Look upon me, and have mercy on me; for I am alone and poor’ (Ibid. 16).
‘I cried to you, O Lord; save me that I may keep your commandments’ (Ps.
118,146). Lord, turn your eyes to me, have pity on me, and save me; for I can
do nothing, and beside you there is none that can help me.

“… St. Bernard’s teaching is the same:
‘What are we, or what is our strength, that we should be able to resist so many
temptations? This certainly it was that God intended; that we, seeing our
deficiencies, and that we have no other help, should with all humility have
recourse to his mercy.’ God knows how useful it is to us to be obliged to pray,
in order to keep us humble, and to exercise our confidence; and he therefore
permits us to be assaulted by enemies too mighty to be overcome by our own
strength, that by prayer we may obtain from his mercy aid to resist them; and
it is especially to be remarked that no one can resist the impure temptations
of the flesh without recommending himself to God when he is tempted. This
foe is so terrible that, when he fights with us, he, as it were, takes away all
light; he makes us forget all our meditations, all our good resolutions; he
makes us also disregard the truths of faith, and even almost lose the fear of
the divine punishments. For he conspires with our natural inclinations, which
drive us with the greatest violence to the indulgence of sensual pleasures. He
who in such a moment does not have recourse to God is lost. The only defense
against this temptation is prayer, as St. Gregory of Nyssa says: ‘Prayer is the
bulwark of chastity’; and before him Solomon: ‘And as I knew that I could not
otherwise be continent except God gave it, I went to the Lord and besought him’
(Wis. 8,21). Chastity is a virtue which we have no strength to practice, unless
God gives us; and God does not give this strength except to him who asks for
it. But whoever prays for it will certainly obtain it.

“… Wrongly, therefore, do those sinners
excuse themselves who say that they have no strength to resist temptation. But
if you have not this strength, why do you not ask for it? is the reproof which
St. James gives them: ‘You have it not, because you ask it not’ (James 4:2).
There is no doubt that we are too weak to resist the attacks of our enemies.
But, on the other hand, it is certain that God is faithful, as the Apostle
says, and will not permit us to be tempted beyond our strength: ‘God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able;
but will make also with the temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it’
(1 Cor. 10,13). ‘He will provide an issue for it,’ says Primasius, ‘by the
protection of his grace, that you may be able to withstand the temptation.’ We
are weak, but God is strong; when we ask him for aid, he communicates his
strength to us, and we shall be able to do all things, as the Apostle
reasonably assured himself: ‘I can do all things in him who strengthens me’
(Phil. 4, 13). He, therefore, who falls has no excuse (says St. Chrysostom),
because he has neglected to pray; for if he had prayed, he would not have been
overcome by his enemies: ‘Nor can anyone be excused who, by ceasing to pray,
has shown that he did not wish to overcome his enemy.’”

Masturbation is definitely a mortal sin

Since so many are coming out of mortal sin and are convincing
themselves that certain things are not sins, we must preach against those
sins with some specificity lest people perish in their ignorance.

Masturbation is definitely a mortal sin. There are
about three places where St. Paul gives a list of some of the main mortal sins
which exclude people from Heaven. These lists do not comprise every mortal sin,
of course, but some of the main ones. Well, it always puzzled many people
exactly what is being referred to in the following passages by the sin of
“uncleanness” and “effeminacy.” St. Paul says that these sins exclude people
from Heaven. Does “effeminacy” refer to acting like and being a homosexual?
What does “uncleanness” refer to?

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and
such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time
past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall
not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such
were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Ephesians 5:5-8 “For this ye know, that no fornicator, nor
unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you
with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the
children of unbelief. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were
sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of
light:”

St. Thomas Aquinas identifies masturbation as the biblical
“uncleanness” and “effeminacy.”

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of
the Second Part, Q. 154, Art. 11: “I answer that, As stated above (A6,9)
wherever there occurs a special kind of deformity whereby the venereal act is
rendered unbecoming, there is a determinate species of lust. This may occur in
two ways: First, through being contrary to right reason, and this is common to
all lustful vices; secondly, because, in addition, it is contrary to the
natural order of the venereal act as becoming to the human race: and this is
called "the unnatural vice." This may happen in several ways. First,
by procuring pollution, without any copulation, for the sake of
venereal pleasure: this pertains to the sin of "uncleanness" which
some call "effeminacy." Secondly, by copulation with a thing
of undue species, and this is called "bestiality." Thirdly, by
copulation with an undue sex, male with male, or female with female, as the
Apostle states (Romans 1:27): and this is called the "vice of
sodomy." Fourthly, by not observing the natural manner of copulation,
either as to undue means, or as to other monstrous and bestial manners of
copulation.”

Thus, not only is masturbation a mortal sin, but it’s a mortal
sin which is identified in three different places in Holy Scripture as one
which excludes people from the Kingdom of God. It’s also classified by St.
Thomas as one of the sins against nature, for it corrupts the order intended by
God. That’s probably why it’s called “effeminacy.” Though it’s not the same as
the abomination of Sodomy (Homosexuality), it’s still inherently disordered and
unnatural. We believe that this sin – since it’s contrary to nature and is
classified as “effeminacy” and “the unnatural vice” – is the cause of some
people being given over to unnatural lusts such as homosexuality, as well as
acts of pedophilia and bestiality and other perverse and evil lusts.

The truth of the fact that all homosexuals are spiritually
possessed by a demonic spirit is also corroborated by the fact that society has
recently seen an incredible increase in the number of people who consider
themselves homosexuals. This is easily explained by the fact that, with the
advent and explosion of the internet and other technological means which make
access to pornography and impurity easy, millions more people are committing
sins of impurity, millions more people are becoming possessed, and countless
more are becoming homosexuals. (And, of course, not all who commit mortal sins
of impurity become homosexuals, so those who somehow think they are okay
because they are not homosexuals, even though they are committing sins of
impurity, are sorely deceived and are also on the road to Hell and in bondage
to the Devil.)

St. Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 43:6 (c. 470-543
A.D.): “If they had faith and believed in God they would dread the coming
judgment with fear and trembling. It is evident that they trust men but not
God, for publicly where men see them they shun adultery, but in secret where
God sees they are entirely without fear. If they had just a spark of faith they
would not dare to commit adultery in the sight of their Lord, just as they do
not allow their servants to offend in their presence. Of such men the Holy
Spirit exclaims though the Prophet: ‘The fool hath said in his heart: There is
no God.’ [Ps. 13.1] It is certain that a man does not believe in God if he
fears to do publicly in the presence of men what he does secretly in darkness
before the face of God.”

Therefore, people who are committing this sin need to cease
the evil immediately and, when prepared, make a good confession. If people are
really struggling in this area, then they are not near the spiritual level
where they need to be. God’s grace is there for them; but they need to pray
more, pray better, avoid the occasions of sin (bad media being one of them) and exercise their
wills. They need to consistently pray the 15-decade Rosary
(i.e. daily). They need to put out more effort spiritually and then it
shouldn’t be a problem.

“What do you say? What do you resolve to do? Yes or no; do
you desire no more to offend God? Who knows whether it is not the last appeal
that the Lord addresses to you? Hasten to take a resolution. Do you wish to
wait until God puts an end to your disorders by casting you into hell without
the least hope of ever remedying your misfortune? Go, my dear Brethren, enter
your homes, and reflect on what you have heard this evening; recommend
yourselves to the Blessed Virgin, and ask her to enlighten you.

“Sinner, thou art foe of heaven, And thou
tremblest not with fear? Cease those sins, my child, ah! leave them, Death
advances, hell is near. … Listen to me this evening: you are now the enemies of
God, it is true, since you have offended him much; but he is ready to pardon
you if you wish to amend your life. Courage, then, my dear Christians come to
the mission, go to confession, and renounce sin; hasten to give yourselves to
God, who is still waiting for you, who is still calling for you; do not anger
him any more.

“… O sinners! what more do you wish God
to do? Do not, therefore, lose confidence, hope; but hope and tremble: if you
wish to amend your life, hope; if you wish to continue to have God as your
enemy, tremble yes, tremble that the present appeal may not be the last one for
you; if you do not resolve to give yourselves to God, perhaps this very evening
God will abandon you, and you will be damned!

“… The Lord could make you die and send
you to hell the moment that you offend him; yet, see the great mercy which he now
shows you: instead of punishing you, you see him coming to you with this holy
mission, in order to pardon you; he comes himself to seek you, to make peace
with you; it will suffice if you repent of having offended him, and if you
promise not to offend him any more.

“He saith: “Poor child, from sin depart;
Rest thee within thy Father’s heart; Turn to thy Shepherd, wandering sheep.”
Now what do you say? how do you respond to the appeal that the Lord addresses
to you? Ah! do not delay any longer, cast yourselves at his feet; come to the
church, and make a good confession.” (St. Alphonsus, Exhortations, The
complete ascetical works of St. Alphonsus, vol. 15, pp. 102-105)

Masturbation is not made moral or lawful within marriage
or the marriage act

Masturbation, in fact, has always been considered as a grave
mortal sin in the Catholic Church and even by most protestant so-called
churches until very recently, and this sin, obviously, doesn’t cease to be a
mortal sin just because the spouses are married! Yet, many married “Catholic”
and other so-called “Christian” couples actually believe that this sin is right
to do within a marriage and the marriage act; and although most of them know or
even admit that it’s wrong or a mortal sin to masturbate outside of marriage or
the marriage act, they nevertheless believe that it’s right to do it within a
marriage or marriage act; and that it is an exception. But what Church
teaching, Bible passage or Saint can they cite to support this demonic
teaching? None! Only evil, perverted, ignorant and heretical modern
“theologians” or other heretical modern-day “Catholic” or “Christian” laymen’s
private opinions during the last 100 years or so, can they cite to support this
teaching! This fact, then, is quite telling, for it proves that this teaching
was totally unheard of in the Christian world before the beginning stages of
the Great Apostasyand the modern
world. Their heretical and modernistic opinions or teachings are utterly
worthless! All masturbatory touching of the genitals of oneself or one’s spouse
in the same or similar manner as would be done in masturbation (i.e.
manipulative sexual acts), is immoral and a mortal sin. Any type of
masturbatory touching is immoral (regardless of whether or when climax occurs)
because it is an act that is non-procreative, unnatural and shameful.

St. Alphonsus Liguori, Sermons for all the Sundays in
the Year, Sermon 45, On Impurity: ““And behold, there was a certain man
before him, who had the dropsy.” (Luke 14:2) The man who indulges in impurity
is like a person laboring under the dropsy. The latter is so much tormented by
thirst, that the more he drinks the more thirsty he becomes. Such, too, is the
nature of the accursed vice of impurity; it is never satiated. “As,” says St.
Thomas of Villanova, “the more the dropsical man abounds in moisture, the more
he thirsts; so, too, is it with the waves of carnal pleasures.”

“I will speak today of the vice of
impurity, and will show, in the first point, the delusion of those who say that
this vice is but a small evil: and, in the second, the delusion of those who
say that God takes pity on this sin, and that he does not punish it.

“1. Delusion of those who say that
sins against purity are not a great evil.

“The unchaste, then, say that sins
contrary to purity are but a small evil. “Like the sow wallowing in the mire,”
(2 Peter 2:22) they are immersed in their own filth, so that they do not see
the malice of their actions; and therefore they neither feel nor abhor the
stench of their impurities, which excite disgust and horror in all others. Can
you, who say that the vice of impurity is but a small evil—can you, I ask, deny
that it is a mortal sin? If you deny it, you are a heretic; for as St. Paul
says: “Do not err. Neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate,
etc., shall possess the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9) It is a mortal
sin; it cannot be a small evil. It is more sinful than theft, or detraction, or
the violation of the fast. How then can you say that it is not a great evil?
Perhaps mortal sin appears to you to be a small evil? Is it a small evil to
despise the grace of God, to turn your back upon Him, and to lose His
friendship, for a transitory, beastly pleasure?

“St. Thomas teaches, that mortal sin,
because it is an insult offered to an infinite God, contains a certain
infinitude of malice. “A sin committed against God has a certain infinitude, on
account of the infinitude of the Divine Majesty.” Is mortal sin a small evil?
It is so great an evil, that if all the angels and all the saints, the
apostles, martyrs, and even the Mother of God, offered all their merits to
atone for a single mortal sin, the oblation would not be sufficient. No; for
that atonement or satisfaction would be finite; but the debt contracted by
mortal sin is infinite, on account of the infinite Majesty of God which has
been offended. The hatred which God bears to sins against purity is great
beyond measure. If a lady find her plate soiled she is disgusted, and cannot
eat. Now, with what disgust and indignation must God, who is purity itself,
behold the filthy impurities by which his law is violated? He loves purity with
an infinite love; and consequently he has an infinite hatred for the sensuality
which the lewd, voluptuous man calls a small evil. Even the devils who held a
high rank in heaven before their fall disdain to tempt men to sins of the
flesh.

“St. Thomas says that Lucifer, who is
supposed to have been the devil that tempted Jesus Christ in the desert,
tempted him to commit other sins, but scorned to tempt Him to offend against
chastity. Is this sin a small evil? Is it, then, a small evil to see a man
endowed with a rational soul, and enriched with so many divine graces, bring himself
by the sin of impurity to the level of a brute? “Fornication and pleasure,”
says St. Jerome, “pervert the understanding, and change men into beasts.” In
the voluptuous and unchaste are literally verified the words of David: “And
man, when he was in honor, did not understand: he is compared to senseless
beasts, and is become like to them.” (Psalm 48:13) St. Jerome says, that there
is nothing more vile or degrading than to allow one’s self to be conquered by
the flesh. Is it a small evil to forget God, and to banish him from the soul,
for the sake of giving the body a vile satisfaction, of which, when it is over,
you feel ashamed? Of this the Lord complains by the Prophet Ezechiel: “Thus
saith the Lord God: Because thou hast forgotten Me, and hast cast Me off behind
thy back.” (Ezechiel 23:35) St. Thomas says, that by every vice, but
particularly by the vice of impurity, men are removed far from God.

“Moreover, sins of impurity on account
of their great number, are an immense evil. A blasphemer does not always
blaspheme, but only when he is drunk or provoked to anger. The assassin, whose
trade is to murder others, does not, at the most, commit more than eight or ten
homicides. But the unchaste are guilty of an unceasing torrent of sins, by
thoughts, by words, by looks, by complacencies, and by touches; so that when
they go to confession they find it impossible to tell the number of the sins
they have committed against purity. Even in their sleep the devil represents to
them obscene objects, that, on awakening, they may take delight in them; and
because they are made the slaves of the enemy, they obey and consent to his
suggestions; for it is easy to contract a habit of this sin. To other sins,
such as blasphemy, detraction, and murder, men are not prone; but to this vice
nature inclines them. Hence St. Thomas says, that there is no sinner so ready
to offend God as the votary of lust is, on every occasion that occurs to him.
The sin of impurity brings in its train the sins of defamation, of theft,
hatred, and of boasting of its own filthy abominations. Besides, it ordinarily
involves the malice of scandal. Other sins, such as blasphemy, perjury, and
murder, excite horror in those who witness them; but this sin excites and draws
others, who are flesh, to commit, it, or, at least, to commit it with less
horror.

“St. Cyprian says that the devil through
impurity triumphs over the whole of man. By lust the evil triumphs over the
entire man, over his body and over his soul; over his memory, filling it with
the remembrance of unchaste delights, in order to make him take complacency in
them; over his intellect, to make him desire occasions of committing sin; over
the will, by making it love its impurities as his last end, and as if there
were no God. “I made,” said Job, “a covenant with my eyes, that I would not so
much as think upon a virgin. For what part should God from above have in me?”
(Job 31:1-2) Job was afraid to look at a virgin, because he knew that if he
consented to a bad thought God should have no part in him. According to St.
Gregory, from impurity arises blindness of understanding, destruction, hatred
of God, and despair of eternal life. St. Augustine says, though the unchaste
may grow old, the vice of impurity does not grow old in them. Hence St. Thomas says,
that there is no sin in which the devil delights so much as in this sin;
because there is no other sin to which nature clings with so much tenacity. To
the vice of impurity it adheres so firmly, that the appetite for carnal
pleasures becomes insatiable. Go now, and say that the sin of impurity is but a
small evil. At the hour of death you shall not say so; every sin of that kind
shall then appear to you a monster of hell. Much less shall you say so before
the judgment-seat of Jesus Christ, who will tell you what the Apostle has
already told you: “No fornicator, or unclean, hath inheritance in the kingdom
of Christ, and God.” (Ephesians 5:5) The man who has lived like a brute does
not deserve to sit with the angels.

“Most beloved brethren, let us continue
to pray to God to deliver us from this vice; if we do not, we shall lose our
souls. The sin of impurity brings with it blindness and obstinacy. Every vice
produces darkness of understanding; but impurity produces it in a greater
decree than all other sins. “Fornication, and wine, and drunkenness take away
the understanding.” (Osee 4:2) Wine deprives us of understanding and reason; so
does impurity. Hence St. Thomas says, that the man who indulges in unchaste
pleasures, does not live according to reason. Now, if the unchaste are deprived
of light, and no longer see the evil which they do, how can they abhor it and
amend their lives? The Prophet Osee says, that blinded by their own mire, they
do not even think of returning to God; because their impurities take away from
them all knowledge of God. “They will not set their thought to return to their
God: for the spirit of fornication is in the midst of them, and they have not
known the Lord.” (Osee 5:4) Hence St. Laurence Justinian writes, that this sin
makes men forget God. “Delights of the flesh induced forgetfulness of God.” And
St. John Damascene teaches that “the carnal man cannot look at the light of
truth.” Thus, the lewd and voluptuous no longer understand what is meant by the
grace of God, by judgment, hell, and eternity. “Fire hath fallen upon them, and
they shall not see the sun.” (Psalm 57:9) Some of these blind miscreants go so
far as to say, that fornication is not in itself sinful. They say, that it was
not forbidden in the Old Law; and in support of this execrable doctrine they
adduce the words of the Lord to Osee: “Go, take thee a wife of fornication, and
have of her children of fornication.” (Osee 1:2) In answer I say, that God did
not permit Osee to commit fornication; but wished him to take for his wife a
woman who had been guilty of fornication: and the children of this marriage
were called children of fornication, because the mother had been guilty of that
crime. This is, according to St. Jerome, the meaning of the words of the Lord
to Osee. “Therefore,” says the holy Doctor, “they are to be called children of
fornication, because born of a harlot.” But fornication was always forbidden,
under pain of mortal sin, in the Old, as well as in the New Law. St. Paul says:
“No fornicator or unclean hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of
God.” (Ephesians 5:5) Behold the impiety to which the blindness of such sinners
carry them! From this blindness it arises, that though they go to the
sacraments, their confessions are null for want of true contrition; for how is
it possible for them to have true sorrow, when they neither know nor abhor
their sins?

“The vice of impurity also brings with
it obstinacy. To conquer temptations, particularly against chastity, continual
prayer is necessary. “Watch ye, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.”
(Mark 14:38) But how will the unchaste, who are always seeking to be tempted,
pray to God to deliver them from temptation? They sometimes, as St. Augustine
confessed of himself, even abstain from prayer, through fear of being heard and
cured of the disease, which they wish to continue. “I feared,” said the saint,
“that Thou wouldst soon hear and heal the disease of concupiscence, which I
wished to be satiated, rather than extinguished.” St. Peter calls this vice an
unceasing sin. “Having eyes full of adultery and sin that ceasest not.” (2
Peter 2:14) Impurity is called an unceasing sin on account of the obstinacy
which it induces.

“Some person addicted to this vice says:
“I always confess the sin.” So much the worse; for since you always relapse
into sin, these confessions serve to make you persevere in the sin. The fear of
punishment is diminished by saying: “I always confess the sin.” If you felt
that this sin certainly merits hell, you would scarcely say: “I will not give
it up; I do not care if I am damned.” But the devil deceives you. “Commit this
sin,” he says, “for you afterwards confess it.” But, to make a good confession
of your sins, you must have true sorrow of the heart, and a firm purpose to sin
no more. Where are this sorrow and this firm purpose of amendment, when you
always return to the vomit? If you had had these dispositions, and had received
sanctifying grace at your confessions, you should not have relapsed, or at
least you should have abstained for a considerable time from relapsing. You
have always fallen back into sin in eight or ten days, and perhaps in a shorter
time, after confession. What sign is this? It is a sign that you were always at
enmity with God. If a sick man instantly vomits the medicine which he takes, it
is a sign that his disease is incurable.

“St. Jerome says that the vice of
impurity, when habitual, will cease when the unhappy man who indulges in it is
cast into the fire of hell. “O infernal fire, lust, whose fuel is gluttony,
whose sparks are brief conversations, whose end is hell.” The unchaste become
like the vulture that waits to be killed by the fowler, rather than abandon the
rottenness of the dead bodies on which it feeds. This is what happened to a
young woman, who, after having lived in the habit of sin with a young man, fell
sick, and appeared to be converted. At the hour of death she asked leave of her
confessor to send for the young man, in order to exhort him to change his life
at the sight of her death. The confessor very imprudently gave the permission,
and taught her what she should say to her accomplice in sin. But listen to what
happened. As soon as she saw him, she forgot her promise to the confessor and
the exhortation she was to give to the young man. And what did she do? She
raised herself up, sat in bed, stretched her arms to him, and said: “Friend, I
have always loved you, and even now, at the end of my life, I love you: I see
that, on your account, I shall go to hell: but I do not care: I am willing, for
the love of you, to be damned.” After these words she fell back on the bed and
expired. These facts are related by Father Segneri. Oh! how difficult is it for
a person who has contracted a habit of this vice, to amend his life and return
sincerely to God! how difficult is it for him not to terminate this habit in
hell, like the unfortunate young woman of whom I have just spoken.

“2. Illusion of those who say that
God takes pity on this sin.

“The votaries of lust say that God takes
pity on this sin; but such is not the language of St. Thomas of Villanova. He
says, that in the sacred Scriptures we do not read of any sin so severely
chastised as the sin of impurity. We find in the Scriptures, that in punishment
of this sin a deluge of fire descended from heaven on four cities, and in an
instant, consumed not only the inhabitants, but even the very stones. “And the
Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of
heaven. And He destroyed these cities, and all things that spring from the
earth.” (Genesis 19:24) St. Peter Damian relates, that a man and a woman who
had sinned against purity were found burnt and black as a cinder.

“Salvian writes that it was in
punishment of the sin of impurity that God sent on the earth the universal deluge,
which was caused by continued rain for forty days and forty nights. In this
deluge the waters rose fifteen cubits above the tops of the highest mountains;
and only eight persons along with Noah were saved in the ark. The rest of the
inhabitants of the earth, who were more numerous then that at present, were
punished with death in chastisement of the vice of impurity. Mark the words of
the Lord in speaking of this chastisement which he inflicted on that sin: “My
spirit shall not remain in man forever: because he is flesh.” (Genesis 6:3)
“That is,” says Liranus, “too deeply involved in carnal sins.” The Lord added:
“For it repenteth Me that I made man.” (Genesis 6:7) The indignation of God is
not like ours, which clouds the mind, and drives us into excesses: his wrath is
a judgment perfectly just and tranquil, by which God punishes and repairs the
disorder of sin. But to make us understand the intensity of his hatred for the
sin of impurity, he represents himself as if sorry for having created man, who
offended him so grievously by this vice. We, at the present day, see more
severe temporal punishment inflicted on this than on any other sin.

“Go into the hospitals, and listen to
the shrieks of so many young men, who, in punishment of their impurities, are
obliged to submit to the severest treatment and to the most painful operations,
and who, if they escape death, are, according to the divine threat, feeble, and
subject to the most excruciating pain for the remainder of their lives. “Thou
hast cast Me off behind thy back; bear thou also thy wickedness and thy
fornications.” (Ezechiel 23:35)

“St. Remigius writes that, if children
be excepted, the number of adults that are saved is few on account of the sins
of the flesh. In conformity with this doctrine, it was revealed to a holy soul
that as pride has filled hell with devils, so impurity fills it with men. St.
Isidore assigns the reason. He says that there is no vice which so much
enslaves men to the devil as impurity. Hence St. Augustine says that with regard
to this sin, “the combat is common and the victory rare.” Hence it is that on
account of this sin hell is filled with souls.

“All that I have said on this subject
has been said, not that any one present, who has been addicted to the vice of
impurity, may be driven to despair, but that such persons may be cured. Let us,
then, come to the remedies. These are two great remedies—prayer, and the flight
of dangerous occasions.

“1. Prayer, says St. Gregory of Nyssa,
is the safeguard of chastity. And before him, Solomon, speaking of himself,
said the same. “And as I knew that I could not otherwise be continent, except
God gave, it . . . I went to the Lord, and besought Him.” (Wisdom 8:21) Thus it
is impossible for us to conquer this vice without God’s assistance. Hence as
soon as temptation against chastity presents itself, the remedy is to turn
instantly to God for help, and to repeat several times the most holy names of
Jesus and Mary, which have a special virtue to banish bad thoughts of that
kind. I have said immediately [to turn instantly to God for
help, and to repeat several times the most holy names of Jesus and Mary],
without listening to, or beginning to argue with, the temptation. When a bad
thought occurs to the mind, it is necessary to shake it off instantly,
as you would a spark that flies from the fire, and instantly to
invoke aid from Jesus and Mary.

“2. As to the flight of dangerous
occasions, St. Philip Neri used to say that cowards that is, they who fly from
the occasions gain the victory. Hence you must, in the first place, keep
a restraint on the eyes, and must abstain from looking at young women.
Otherwise, says St. Thomas, you can scarcely avoid the sin. Hence Job said:
“I made a covenant with my eves that I would not so much as think upon a virgin.”
(Job 31:1) He was afraid to look at a virgin; because from looks it is easy to
pass to desires, and from desires to acts. St. Francis de Sales used to say
that to look at a woman does not do so much evil as to repeatedly look at her a
second time. If the devil has not gained a victory the first, he will gain the
second time. And if it be necessary to abstain from looking at women, it
is much more necessary to avoid conversation with them. “Tarry not
among women.” (Ecclesiasticus 42:12) we should be persuaded that, in avoiding
occasions of this sin, no caution can be too great. Hence we must be always
fearful, and fly from them. A wise man feareth and declineth from evil; a fool
is confident.” (Proverbs 14:16) A wise man is timid, and flies away: a fool is
confident, and falls.”

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